Manga Xanadu

The climax of our story is finally at hand! Mankind faces a crisis and Kenji is hustling to save the world and the people he loves. But he also must solve the mystery of the Friend. Who is he and why did he become evil? The answer is tied to a memory Kenji has from when he was a twentieth century boy. 21st Century Boys Volume 2 By Naoki Urasawa Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Mystery/Thriller Price: $12.99USD Rating: In my previous review of volume 1 of 21st Century Boys, I had hopes of the this part would redeem what I thought was a non-ending of the first part, 20th Century Boys. While this volume does tie up many of the loose ends and does finally answer the question “Who is the Friend?”, it still doesn’t satisfy like I had hoped. The search for the remote to the proton bomb continues, both in reality and in the virtual world. The UN Forces show their distrust of Kanna and the rest of the group, but that doesn’t stop them from continuing the search. Kanna’s powers come into play in discovering the bomb’s button and the location of the…

This week I have a short Weekly Wish List, a couple of new stories In the News, the Top Ten Department, and the I look at the new licenses announced by Yen Press on Friday. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode61/MangaDomeEpisode61.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Seishu Gakuen baseball team is one win away from fulfilling Wakaba’s final dream of seeing Ko pitch in front of a packed crowd at Koshien. But they’ll have to beat powerhouse Ryuou Gakuin in the North Tokyo Tournament finals in order to get there. Meanwhile, Akane Takigawa’s health takes a turn for the worse, and she’s scheduled to have surgery…on the day of the big game. By Mitsurs Adachi Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports Price: $14.99US Rating: When Cross Game first came out, it got a lot of praise. It was also featured in a Manga Movable Feast, but the first chapter preview Viz made available didn’t interest me. So, I passed on the series, until I received a copy of the final volume. I decided to give the series a shot and see what everyone was so excited about. I did enjoy the volume. It was easy to  get into, even with being the final volume, but ultimately it still didn’t make a convert out of me. This volume starts out with Ko and the Seishu Gakuen baseball team departing to play the final game that will decide who will go to Koshien. Any potential…

This week I check out the Weekly Wish List, a couple of stories In the News, the Top Ten Department including the Nielson Top 20, and talk about one idea for fighting scan and aggregator sites. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode60/MangaDomeEpisode60.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Shohoku has made it to the second round of the Nationals, and are matched up to play against Sannoh, last year’s National champions. While Sannoh seems to be on a whole different level from Shohoku, the boys are ready to give up on their dreams of advancing just yet, especially Sakuragi. It going to take everything they got and every trick in their book to make it through this game. The question is, will it be enough? By Takehiko Inoue Publisher: Viz Media Age Rating: Teen Genre: Sports Price: $9.99 Rating: Slam Dunk is one of those titles that can suck you in and keep you glued to your seat whether you think you’ll like the series or not. I’ve read previous volumes and have enjoyed them all, but these volumes, some of the last before the end of the series are just amazing. There really is no other way to describe it. I know nothing about basketball and really don’t care for it, but I could not put down a single one of these volumes and had to grab the next, the game was so gripping. The entirety of these four volumes is dedicated to a single game; Shohoku’s semi-finals…

This week I check out the Weekly Wish List with titles from Kodansha and Yen Press, some stories of titles ending in Japan In the News, the Top Ten Department including the Bookscan numbers for April, and then I discuss shelving manga in bookstores in ways other than alphabetical. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode59/MangaDomeEpisode59.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This week I check out regular features the Weekly Wish List, stories In the News, Crunchyroll Corner, and the Top Ten Department. Then I rant a bit about translating names in manga. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode58/MangaDomeEpisode58.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

  This week I look at the Weekly Wish List, a couple of stories about Amazon and Viz Media In The News, and the Top Ten Department. Then I look at some manga creators that had some titles I liked, but the follow-up title not so much. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode57/MangaDomeEpisode57.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Cut alive from his mother’s womb after she had been eaten by a rampaging Titan, Kuklo has spent his life in chains as a freakish curiosity and a feared abomination. Eventually the boy they call the “Titan’s son” finds himself sold to wealthy merchant Dario Inocencio as a plaything for his cruel and ambitious son Xavi. Kuklo knows nothing but abuse and neglect, but help may come from the most unexpected place… Written by Ryo Suzukaze; Art by Satoshi Shiki Publisher: Kodansha Comics Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Horror Price: $10.99US Rating: Buy the Book Even though it was easy to get into the original Attack on Titan fairly late in the series, it’s even better when you can start at the beginning. Attack on Titan: Before the Fall is prequel to the original series, taking place 70 years in the past. While it didn’t take much to get me onto the original Attack on Titan bandwagon, I was jumping even faster to ride with Before the Fall. The story follows Kuklo, who has been persecuted and abused his entire 13 years for doing nothing but surviving. He burst from his mother’s womb after she had been eaten by a…

This week I check out some titles ending on the Weekly Wish List, some stories In The News, a Crunchyroll Corner warning, the Top Ten Department, and look at two different sports manga Slam Dunk and Cross Game. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode56/MangaDomeEpisode56.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Ririchiyo Shirakiin is a girl from a family of old money who also has Ayakashi blood as a genetic throw back to a human ancestor who coupled with an Ayakashi. She moves to Maison de Ayakashi because she want to become independent, but every one who moves into the apartment building is assigned a member of it’s secret service. Soushi Miketsukaim is assigned to Ririchiyo, and he is about as devoted and protective as a dog, much to Ririchiyo’s chagrin. By Cocoa Fujiwara Publisher: Yen Press Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Supernatural/Romance Price: $11.99 Rating: I had my doubts about Inu x Boku SS as I started to read the first volume. I wasn’t sure what to make of Ririchiyo at first. Her throwback is to a demon, and in some ways it seems to show. She speaks without thinking and comes off as mean and blunt. But that’s not the real Ririchiyo. After speaking like that, she immediately regrets her words but doesn’t know how to apologize properly. She is very awkward and is sincere in wanting to change. I didn’t like her at first, but as I continued reading, I found her growing on me. I found myself…

This week I have the Weekly Wish List, stories from In the News, the Top Ten Department, and make a plea for the license rescue of the previous CMX shojo title Stolen Hearts. http://archive.org/download/MangaDomeEpisode55/MangaDomeEpisode55.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download